Adobe Illustrator Basics for Dummies #1: Vector Drawing

The first video tutorial of the ‘Adobe Illustrator Basics for Dummies’ series deals with vector drawing. The vector drawing function is the core of Adobe Illustrator. This concentration makes Illustrator distinguishable from Photoshop, which mostly specializes itself in bitmap drawing.

A vector shape is a mathematical representation of a geometric object while a bitmap shape is based on the tonal level of pixels. A bitmap image is a mere collection of square pixels. So you won’t see the jaggedness of a shape if it’s a rectangle. But if not, some of the pixels must be transparent to some degree to reduce the jaggedness of a shape. That gives an advantage to vector shapes, which are free of jaggedness. A vector curve can be drawn through pixels to connect points.













Adobe Illustrator keywords: Smart Guides, Pen Tool, Grid, Zoom, Anchor Point, Handle, Selection Tool, Direct Selection Tool, Convert Anchor Point Tool, Add Anchor Point Tool, Pencil Tool, Simplify Path, Live Trace, Make and Convert to Live Paint

Adobe Illustrator is a product of Adobe Systems Incorporated.